Judith Hackitt

Dame Judith Hackitt DBE FREng FIChemE FCGI
Hackitt in November 2011
Chair of the Health and Safety Executive
In office 2008–2016
Succeeded by	Martin Temple
President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers
In office 2013–2014
Preceded by	Russell Scott
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Maitland
Chair of the Health and Safety Commission
In office 2007–2009
Personal details
Born	Judith Elizabeth Hackitt (1954-12-01) 1 December 1954 (age 66) Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Imperial College, London
Occupation	Chair, EEF (manufacturers' association)
Awards	CBE (2006) DBE (2016)

Dame Judith Elizabeth Hackitt, DBE, FREng, FIChemE, FCGI (born 1 December 1954) is a British engineer and civil servant. A former Chair of the UK Health and Safety Executive, she is currently Chair of manufacturing trade body EEF.

Early life[]

Hackitt was born on 1 December 1954 in Dordon, Warwickshire, England.^[1] She graduated in chemical engineering from Imperial College, London in 1975.^[2]

Career[]

After graduating from Imperial College, University of London, with a degree in Chemical Engineering, Hackitt worked for Exxon Chemicals for 15 years at the Fawley Refinery. She joined the Chemical Industries Association in 1998 and became its Director General from 2002 to 2005. She then worked in Brussels for the European Chemical Industries Council (Cefic) before being appointed Chair of the Health and Safety Commission in 2007. She became Chair of the Health and Safety Executive on 1 April 2009 when the two organizations merged.^[3]

She was President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers from 2013 to 2014.^[4] She was a senior non-executive director and trustee of the Energy Saving Trust, a non-executive director of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, and a trustee of the City & Guilds Group.^[5]

In 2016, she took over as Chair of manufacturing trade body EEF from Martin Temple, who himself then became Chair of the Health and Safety Executive.^[6][7]

She was the Chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety which was commissioned by the Government following the Grenfell Tower fire. The Review's Interim Report was published in December 2017,^[8] and its final report, Building a Safer Future, was issued on 17 May 2018.^[9] In a personal note in the report, she states that events following the publication of the interim report

have reinforced the findings of the interim report, and strengthened my conviction that there is a need for a radical rethink of the whole [regulatory] system and how it works. This is most definitely not just a question of the specification of cladding systems, but of an industry that has not reflected and learned for itself, nor looked to other sectors. This does not mean that all buildings are unsafe. Interim mitigation and remediation measures have been put in place where necessary for existing high-rise residential buildings to assure residents of their safety regarding fire risk. It is essential that this industry now works to implement a truly robust and assured approach to building the increasingly complex structures in which people live.^[9]

Honours[]

She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010,^[10] and currently chairs the External Affairs Committee. She is also a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and a member of its council.

Hackitt was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006 for services to health and safety^[1][3][11] and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to engineering and health and safety.^[12][13] She was listed in the Top 50 Women in UK Engineering by the Telegraph in 2016.^[14]

References[]

External links[]

• Judith Hackitt speaks video interview